The Rights we Fight for
by 177624601
Summary: AU Daniel Fenton joins the Colonial Army to fight against the British in the American Revolution. Along the way, he meets Tucker Foley, a the son of two free slaves, and Samantha Manson, who changed her identity just so she could protect her beliefs. R&R.
1. The Battle of Concord and Lexington

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the show. I got the idea from this one, however, from reading "Desperado."

4/19/1775

Madeleine Fenton waited, as she did every morning, on the porch for the post rider to arrive. It had only been a week, but it felt like years since she'd hear from her son, Daniel. She worried about him. Relations between the colonies and England had long since reached a fever pitch. Five years ago, in fact, John Adams, a local lawyer and close friend of the family, defended a group of soldiers who'd been arrested for killing five Bostonians in what quickly became known as "The Boston Massacre."

Last month, Daniel and some friends had been out painting the town red one night when they'd all agreed to join the Army on a whim. Daniel, being only 14, lied about his age when he joined, claiming he was fifteen. Her husband, Jack, had gone off to work at the printing house a few hours ago. Off in the distance, a horse's whinny came through the crisp morning air. Madeleine stood as she watched the horse and rider galloping up the dirt path to her home in Braintree, Massachusetts.

"Mornin' Mrs. Fenton. Got your mail." He presented her with a few envelopes and the newspaper.

"Thank you, Charles." Handing the rider a package containing a pair of socks she'd made him for his 15th birthday, she added, "I have a package for him, by the way." She tossed him a coin for his services and sent him on his way. Flipping through the letters, she found the one she was looking for.

_18/4/1775_

_Dearest mother,_

_I was so certain I wanted to join the Army and fight for our freedom as a nation, but now I'm not sure. I'm afraid. Tomorrow I will experience war firsthand. Word around camp is that we are expected to face Cornwallis soon. How can a fledgling nation hope to stand against the greatest military the world has ever known? But I can't think of that now. After all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link._

_On a lighter note, I've made many friends around camp. I met one man from Kentucky, Charles Atkins. His wife, Annabelle, is expecting a child, their third. He has a son, Edward, who's twelve, and a daughter, Gabrielle, who's fifteen. Him and I became fast friends, something the commanding officers advise against, should they be lost in battle._

_Another friend I made is a young man about my age from Mary-land. His name is Samuel Manson. Like me, he, too, lied about his age, leaving home with no sweetheart to bid farewell to. A smart boy, he hopes to attend Harvard someday. Maybe I can get Mr. Adams to put in a good word for him._

_Fear not for my health, for they are feeding me well. The food is healthy, if, at times, somewhat unappetizing, and the portions, while by no means large, are big enough to keep one from hunger until the next meal. Just last night we had some rather dry turkey served with biscuits and gravy._

_Send my love to father and Jasmine. Your loving son,_

_Daniel_

As she put down the letter, Madeleine wept and prayed for her son's protection.

Meanwhile, in Concord, Massachusetts, Daniel's heart beat in his chest as though it were one of the drums in the fife-and-drum corps that followed them. With bated breath, he marched with his fellow colonists as the British, in turn, advanced toward them. Daniel's young life flashed before his eyes as his commanding officer yelled out "Company, halt! Make ready! Take aim!" Daniel loaded his rifle, which he shouldered before he pressed it to his shoulder and aimed it at the head of an enemy soldier, but before his CO could yell out "Fire!", a local farmer, near whose field they had met for battle, discharged his firearm, possibly as a warning against the British, unbeknownst and unexpected to both armies. This later became known as "the shot heard 'round the world."

Alarmed by the sudden noise, Daniel instinctively pulled back on the trigger, catching the soldier in the head. Fortunately, he fired as his CO gave the order. At that same moment, an earth-shattering boom filled the air. Daniel felt blood splatter across his face as the head of the soldier beside him was ripped off its neck by a British cannonball.

An instant later, the Colonial Army was given the order to charge. Screaming from adrenaline, Daniel ran headlong with his fellow Americans into the British ranks. Hearing the cock of a pistol near his head, Daniel turned and gored a redcoat right through the chest. Turning sharply on his heels, he just barely had time to react as he saw another enemy soldier bearing down on him. Taking aim, Daniel fired his pistol right between the other soldier's eyes.

He was just about to reload when he felt the butt of a British musket ram itself into the side of his head. Dazed, he watched as the soldier aimed his firearm at Daniel's head only to be stabbed in the side by Daniel's close friend, Charles Atkins, a twenty-something with a surprisingly hard-edged face for someone so young, the sign of a farmer. Trying to stand, Daniel's knees felt like gelatin. Finally, he succumbed to the black spots in front of his eyes as his legs gave one last heave.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ha, ha, cliffie! Naughty, naughty me. I love writing cliffhangers. Will Danny be alright? Stick around to find out.


	2. The Battle of Bunker Hill

4/20/1775

Madeleine frantically searched through the newspaper, counting down through the list of casualties. "Fallsworth, Faroni, Favolise," Her heart fearfully skipped a beat as she came to the name "Daniel Alan Fenton." Mercifully, Daniel's middle name was James, after his father's father. She continued reading until she reached the name "Fishman," at which point she breathed an enormous sigh of relief.

4/26/1775

Daniel's head swam as he came to. He heard two voices call out his name. Opening his eyes, he saw two fuzzy orbs floating above him. His vision clearing little by little, Daniel came to recognize them as heads, he just couldn't tell whose. "Daniel?" asked the voice of Charles Atkins. "Are you alright?"

The two faces, the other belonging to Samuel, finally finished coming into view as Daniel responded, "I'm fine, Charles. How long was I out for?"

"A week." Responded Samuel. "These came for you while you were out. It arrived the day after the battle." Samuel added as he produced two letters and a package from Madeleine.

"The battle!" Daniel echoed. "What happened?" He asked excitedly, propping himself up on his pillow.

Gently pushing him back, Charles responded, "It's alright, Daniel, we won."

"We won?"

"I'm as surprised as you. Truth be told, I doubt any of us expected the outcome that we had. Scuttlebutt around camp is that it's a good omen, a sign that may indicate the outcome of the war. We'll leave you alone, now. Come, Samuel." Opening the letter, Daniel started to read.

_19/4/1775_

_Dear Daniel,_

_The farm is doing well. The spring brought a veritable cache of apples. Our mare, Guinevere, gave birth to a foal just a few days ago. We named him Gawain._

_I hope you make many friends in the Army. Write often. Your father and Jasmine send their love._

_Love,_

_Mother._

Without waiting, he ripped open the other letter as well.

_20/4/1775_

_Dear Daniel_

_I was so scared this morning as I scoured the roster of casualties, thanking God when I found out that you were still alive. I read your letter yesterday. Have faith, Daniel. We can win this war. The Admass seem to think so as well, even though Mr. Adams seems to think that his fellow congressman have deemed him "obnoxious and disliked", as he worded it. From what I read in the newspapers, we are doing well. Around town, everyone is doing as much as he or she can to support all the men who joined. Last night, Jasmine was talking about joining the army as a nurse, just so she could look after you, but I managed to talk her out of it. At least, I _think_ I talked her out of it. You two always were the most incorrigible children._

_Daniel, I may not like your decision to join the Army, but it _was_ your decision. I know I can't always look after you like I did when you were a mere child, I just never thought the time to cut the umbilical cord would come so quickly. I'm glad to hear that you're being well-fed, and that you're making friends. I hope to meet Charles and Samuel someday. As always, father and Jasmine send their love._

_Love,_

_Your adoring mother_

It had been just less than a two months after the battles of Concord and Lexington when Daniel and some of his friends took Samuel out to a local pub for his 15th birthday. After a rousing verse of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", the group dispersed, everyone conversing with someone else. Sitting down next to his best mate, he struck up a conversation.

"Now Samuel, I know you're from Mary-land, and that you have no girl to go home to, but that's all I know of you."

"What would you like to know?" Samuel asked as he gazed into his glass-bottomed mug of ale.

"Well…everything."

"Well, for starters, I was born in a cabin in the woods outside of Baltimore. My father wanted me to practice medicine as a trade, like he did. I new that I was destined for something different. One night, about a year ago, he and I got into an argument. I told him I wanted to join the Army and fight in my country's defense. My father wouldn't hear of it. He said that even if he did let me sign up for any military, it would be in the "glorious" service of Fat George. So, I ran away that very night and never looked back.

The next day, they found themselves again in the midst of battle, this time trying to defend Bunker Hill, Breed's Hill, and Moulton hill. The battle was over before it was begun. The British had learned a powerful message at Concord and Lexington, and they'd learned it well: never underestimate your enemy.

As they fought side by side, Samuel let out an ear-splitting shriek as a bullet pierced his shoulder. As soon as he'd dragged Samuel far enough away from battle so dirt wouldn't clog the wound, Daniel started to open Samuel's jacket. "Daniel, no, I'll be fine." Samuel said, fighting off Daniel as blood flowed freely from the wound.

"Samuel, stop fighting me! We need to take care of the wound!" Daniel snapped as he finally ripped Samuel's jacket open. "I can't do it if you're…" He stopped at the image that lay before him, for there was a long scarf wound tightly around Samuel's bosom, and Daniel could tell it wasn't a bandage, judging by the way the small, fleshy mounds at the top and bottom of the scarf. "But you're a-a…" He stammered, taken totally aback. This explained why Samuel had the most feminine features of any man Daniel had ever seen.

"Pvt. 1st class Samantha Elizabeth Manson, reporting for duty."

"But you said your father…"

"He wanted me to be a nurse, Daniel."

Finally able to understand that Samantha had disguised herself as a boy, Danny added, "Well, this bullet seems far too deep to extract it with human hands., and going into town to have it removed would raise some questions."

"What do you propose we do?"

"The only thing we can do."

Reluctantly, Samantha agreed to be taken to the Army medic, even if it meant a court martial.

"Nurse, we have a wounded soldier." Daniel said, addressing a red-haired girl who was busy preparing some medicine.

"Very, well, Daniel." The girl said as she turned to face him. It was his sister, Jasmine.


End file.
